The best revenge movies ever

Nov. 19, 2010

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Charles Bronson was not someone you wanted to cross. But where does his "Death Wish" rank on our list of the greatest revenge films of all time? Continue through the slide show to find out. TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO BY PARAMOUNT PICTURES

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30. "The Italian Job" - Although some see this as a two-hour Mini Cooper commercial, it's still a pretty good action yarn. TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO BY PARAMOUNT PICTURES

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29. "The Patriot" - If you ever wondered if Mel Gibson's film career had a theme, think revenge. This will not be the first time you see Mel on this list, and we even left out a few. TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO BY COLUMBIA PICTURES

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28. "The Karate Kid" - Those nasty bullies in the skeleton costumes were scary, but they were waxed on and waxed off. TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO BY COLUMBIA PICTURES

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27. "Four Brothers" - Four guys who don't look alike respond like a family to avenge the murder of their mother. TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO BY PARAMOUNT PICTURES

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26. "Ghost" - Whoopi won an Oscar, but Patrick Swayze got even with the guy who arranged his murder. TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO BY PARAMOUNT PICTURES

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25. "Mystic River" - In Clint Eastwood's brilliant film, the lesson learned was that you should be careful about the revenge you wish for ... TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO BY WARNER BROS.

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24. "The Crow" - The late Brandon Lee literally came back from the dead to get his revenge. TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO BY JEFF MOST PRODUCTIONS

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23. "Sleepers" - A group of youngsters make a terrible mistake, pay dearly for that mistake and then grow up to exact revenge. TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO BY BALTIMORE PICTURES

21. "V for Vendetta" - Not a lot of people saw it, but those who did thought it was one of the coolest revenge movies ever made. TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO BY WARNER BROS.

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20. "Straw Dogs" - If you're old enough to remember it, you'll remember how shocking it was to see Dustin Hoffman get so violent. TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO BY ABC PICTURES

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19. "Cape Fear" - The next time your daughter brings home a guy you don't like, remember this photo. It could be worse. TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO BY AMBLIN ENTERTAINMENT

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18. "Desperado" - This is Antonio Banderas the way we like to see him in movies - not in those "Spy Kids" flicks. TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO BY COLUMBIA PICTURES

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17. "Machete" - Veteran character actor Danny Trejo got a chance to be an avenging hero and a leading man (he kissed Jessica Alba) in this recent classic (if you accept it as a spoof). TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO BY OVERNIGHT FILMS

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16. "Trading Places" - I've seen it 10 times and still don't fully understand how they got those two old goats at the end of the movie, but it was great. TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO BY PARAMOUNT PICTURES

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15. "Nevada Smith" - You might not have seen this 1966 film, but it had Steve McQueen and a revenge theme. It was awesome. TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO BY SOLAR PRODUCTIONS

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14. "Munich" - The Israelis taste revenge for the murders at the Olympics, but revenge often had a bitter taste. TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO BY UNIVERSAL PICTURES

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13. "Mad Max" - A very young Mel Gibson plays a futuristic cop who hunts down the killers of his wife. TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO BY MAD MAX FILMS

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12. "The Sting" - Robert Redford didn't get the revenge he wanted for the death of a close friend, but he took what he could get. TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO BY UNIVERSAL PICTURES

10. "Man on Fire" - Denzel is Dakota's bodyguard, and he takes that responsibility very seriously. TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO BY FOX 2000

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9. "Revenge of the Nerds" - Come on; the word revenge is in the title. Very realistic. In real life, the nerds got their revenge by running the world. TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO BY INTERSCOPE COMMUNICATIONS

7. "Carrie" - You might think twice about teasing that shy young girl in high school gym class. TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO BY REDBANK FILMS

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6. "The Count of Monte Cristo" - Novelist Alexander Dumas practically invented the revenge genre. The book has been filmed countless times; this 2002 version was pretty good. TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO BY TOUCHSTONE PICTURES

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5. "Braveheart" - It's Mel again, this time all done up for Halloween. TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO BY ICON ENTERTAINMENT

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4. "The Outlaw Josey Wales" - Of all the Clint Eastwood revenge Westerns ("Hang "Em High" and "High Plains Drifter" are two others), this is my favorite. TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO BY WARNER BROS.

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3. The "Bourne" trilogy - Once he figured out who he was, he went after the people who made him who he was. TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO BY UNIVERSAL PICTURES

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2. "Gladiator" - Russell Crowe was a little intense when the movie started. Imagine his rage when the evil emperor murdered his family. TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO BY UNIVERSAL PICTURES

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1. "Death Wish" - Forget the four sequels. Remember only the original. It struck a chord when it came out in 1974 that still resonates. Identifying one of the muggers has become one of the most frequently asked movie trivia questions of all time. TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO BY PARAMOUNT PICTURES

Charles Bronson was not someone you wanted to cross. But where does his "Death Wish" rank on our list of the greatest revenge films of all time? Continue through the slide show to find out. TEXT BY BARRY KOLTNOW, PHOTO BY PARAMOUNT PICTURES

This is a special time of year in Hollywood, when we express our thanks for our blessings and exact vengeance on the people who wronged us.

We can thank the Thanksgiving holiday for the good feelings associated with the former, and Dwayne "Don't Call Me The Rock" Johnson's new revenge movie "Faster" for the latter.

Well, it's not really fair to blame Johnson for what we're about to do. After all, the revenge theme has been a constant in literature and film for as long as people have been reading books and watching movies.

"Faster," starring the wrestler-turned-actor as a man bent on avenging the death of his brother, doesn't open until Nov. 24, but it inspired us to think about a popular movie genre.

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